Eggs?

[eyepatrol]

On Saturday I kept 4 crappies between 10"-11" for the pan. 3 of the 4 had some eggs in them. I've never been a fan of keeping fish with eggs, but I just didn't have a clue that these fish had eggs in them, they looked just like the one without eggs (as far as belly fatness goes).

Should I be releasing these 10"-11" crappies and work on keeping the 7"-9" ones? Is there a good way to tell if a crappie has eggs in it, because I certainly couldn't tell when I caught them.

Thanks.

[harvey lee]

I was catching crappies a month ago with eggs in them.I dont think you can tell unless you cut them.

[Fishin Beast]

Even some of the 7-9"ers have eggs in them I believe. As long as there isn't any waste I dont have a problem with keeping them.

[CrappieJohn]

When crappies spawn in the spring, it only takes a few weeks to find what looks like full skeins in them again. This is what you are finding.

The spawn will not ripenand become ready to fertilize until some conditions get met: water temps in the 66 degree range is the biggie. Moon phase I think plays into this to a small degree, water conditions (muddy, clear, normal level, high water)are all players here as well.

When the eggs have matured and the fish is physically prime to spawn within a few days, the gut will appear distented on the females, but as you know the males will appear very dark. This will help with distinguishing the males from females in late spring, but it is the larger fish that you'll want to put back if you are concerned about egg bearers at other times of the year. Females run larger in physical size than the males very often, but to be able to tell the difference in sexes now is tough.